In flower this is an inconspicious shrub with greenish flowers easily missed. It tends to prefer neutral or basic soils and will invariably be found in a hedgerow somewhere in a limestone area. The unripe fruits (shown here) are also unremrakable but when ripe they change. The ripe fruits usually seen later in summer are a combination of bright orange and shocking pink and are one of the finest examples of a violent colour clash you'll ever see in nature.

E. europeaus is found all over England, Wales and Ireland and is not uncommon in southern Scotland. It is rarely recorded from central and northern Scotland.

LHS: Cilygroeslwyd 30th May 2005 RHS: Gaitbarrows 27th April 2004

Added on on September 14th 2004, amended January 25th 2005, updated January 11th 2009, updated 30th March 2010